A South Bristol man who was once on the state’s sex offender list is back in jail on charges of sexually abusing a young teenager.

Last year, Brian Merryman, 38, and other people on Maine’s sex offender registry, were taken off the list as a result of a class-action lawsuit argued in the state’s highest court.

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Investigators said the charges stem from allegations that Merryman sexually assaulted a 12-year-old in 2013.

"He was on the registry at the time of this alleged incident, or at least the incidents he's been charged with thus far," Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett said.

Officials said Merryman was convicted of unlawful sexual contact with a person under the age of 14 in 1996. Merryman registered as a sex offender as a result of the incident.

Merryman was removed from the registry last June as a result of the lawsuit.

Brackett said local law enforcement agencies do a good job in keeping an eye on sex offenders, but there’s only so much they can do.

“The registry wasn't intended to prevent these folks from committing a crime again as much as it was to promote public safety by making the public aware that these folks are required to register because of this conduct and they may be living in your area," Brackett said.

“We track registrants, and then we do a registration sweep. Once or twice a year, one or two of my detectives will grab the list, jump in the car, and go out and start knocking on doors and verify that these folks are where they are supposed to be."

Merryman is being held at the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset. He is scheduled to appear in court at 1 p.m. Friday.